THE VERY VERY VERY LONG DAY
EXHIBITION CATALOG 1 THE VERY VERY VERY LONG DAY · · · · · · · · · · A Virtual Exhibition · · · · · · · · · August 22, 2020 Curatorial Statement #TVVVLD
Self Help Graphics & Art presents The Very Very Very Long Day, a virtual group exhi- bition curated by Marvella Muro, featuring artists from our teaching artists cohort and Featuring Advisory Committee, documenting their collective experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. The exhibition opens virtually August 22, 2020.
Pavel Acevedo Cynthia Navarro Since the implementation of the mandatory quarantine in mid-March, the perception Martha Carrillo Jennifer Payan of time has blurred and morphed into what seems to be one Very Very Very Long Day. Time is obsolete, yet five months have passed, bearing witness to a global standstill Gabriella Claro Monica Perez while simultaneously experiencing a nationwide uprising. We first found ourselves Clover Andrea Ramirez scrambling to adapt to a new way of life while watching the number of COVID-19 cases rise and the economy sink. Our anxieties are magnified by the restrictions to physically Victoria Delgadillo Diego Robles be with family and friends, primarily when an illness or death affects a loved one. The Yaneli Delgado Oscar Rodriguez inability to practice traditional mourning rituals further deepens the void in our hearts. Flor Flores Viktor Rosas The pandemic has also shed light on the many systematic inequities affecting peo- ple of color, on a national level. For one, communities of color are the most impacted Gustavo Garcia Marianne Sadowski by COVID-19 - from economic well being to health and security - and yet historically Rafael Haro Pete Tovar receive the least amount of resources. These factors, including the growing frustrations generated by the pandemic, were further exacerbated by the video of George Floyd’s Michelle Lopez Dewey Tafoya killing, with the Black Lives Matter movement exemplifying the strength and courage of Rosalie Lopez Arleny Vargas the human spirit at its core. The Very Very Very Long Day exhibition is not only a doc- Ariel Mar Ernesto Vasquez umentation of many issues currently at the forefront, but also honors the human spirit, people’s perseverance, and to some extent, determination to create new normalcy to Dalila Paola Mendez Mario Ybarra Jr. avoid breaking. Connie Mendoza Joan Zamora The works in the exhibition are windows to a specific time, recordings of tangible and Chynna Monforte intangible events, and experiences. As we continue to celebrate birthdays and special occasions, walk our dogs and attempt to follow a routine in this new normal, we look to the day where we can stand strong, hand in hand, and without masks once again.
2 3 PAVEL ACEVEDO @pavel_acevedo
About
Pavel is a printmaker and muralist originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, and based in River- side. His artwork is inspired by the traditional Mexican printmaking and imagery, cre- ating stories that emerge from contemporary events. His murals are at The Wignall Art Museum and Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, La Sierra University, and a public wall in Riverside, California. He has exhibited between Southern California and the Bay Area, including the Getty Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA and We Rise LA in 2019.
He was a grant recipient of the James Irvine Foundation and received an artist fellow- ship at KALA Art Institute in Berkeley and is part of Speedball’s roster of printmakers. Past artist residencies include College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita and Horned Toad Print Shop in El Paso, TX.
Artist’s Statement
There are elders’ stories telling how nature rules itself and how humans are connected to nature. When natural disasters happen, elders respond, “It’s not a problem for na- ture. It will restore itself, and the species will overcome and come together. Man will feel as if they conquered nature, but in no time, nature will take over and end man’s greed. The events happening now are all connected and against our community. We PAVEL ACEVEDO must join in solidarity against all the injustices and defunds systems that don’t support life. Mutual Aid/Ayuda Mutua, 2020 linocut, Ed. 10 A child representing an entity calls for solidarity with her fist. She has multiple masks 24 x 18 in. - paper size around her - one being a Jaguar, an homage to the stories taught by my elders to over- $400.00 come and unify.
4 5 MARTHA CARRILLO @heartonarts
About
Martha Carrillo is a visual and theatrical artist with expertise in prop-making, set decoration, and extensive experience in printmaking and large scale papier-mache objects. Martha is part of Self Help Graphics & Art Barrio Mobile Art Studio team of MARTHA CARRILLO teaching artists and has worked with The Music Center, Center Theater Group and others. Mexican-American, 2020 glass paint on plexiglass Artist’s Statement 8 x 10 in. $250.00 The quarantine has had me thinking about so much. About identity and who is more Mexican? How many generations in the States does it take one to be an American? As a first generation and LA native from Mexican immigrant parents, I wonder, how many generations do we need to prove that this is our home?
6 7 GABRIELLA CLARO @tragic4l
About
Gabby Claro is a 22-year-old artist from South Central LA. Focusing on mediums such as screen printing and painting, Gabby’s work is deeply rooted in social consciousness and empowerment.
gabriella claro Artist’s Statement
Future Generations, 2020 While this piece is heavily inspired by the recent uprisings, I’ve also used this time and mixed media (paint and embroidery) artwork to reflect. Continually thinking about how our actions, language, and ignorance 20 x 24 in. can deeply affect our youth, the portraits of Aiyana Jones and Tamir Rice are included $250.00 to honor the young lives taken by violence.
8 9 TRENELY “CLOVER” GARCIA
@thecloversigns
About
Clover grew up in South Central. She is a member of Ni Santas an all women artists collective. She has a passion for typography and often includes text in her art work. In 2017, Clover was invited to publish her very first serigraph print through Self Help Graphics & Art’s Professional Printmaking Program. The print titled Los caminos de la vida reinvisions what her neighborhood of South Central would be like, if the residents had more green space.
Artist’s Statement TRENELY “CLOVER” GARCIA I feel like I’m buried alive, like I’m trapped in a cage even though I am able to get Enterrada viva, 2020 out. Guilty, guilty of being happy in a chaotic but enlightened time surrounded by the watercolor and black ink on watercolor paper beauty of the land and this concrete jungle having downtown next door & its fast pace. 8 x 8 in. Media tristona, kind of sad. Prints of the painting are available for purchase through NFS @thecloversigns.
10 11 VICTORIA DELGADILLO @ victoriadelgadillo4637
About
Victoria Delgadillo works in various forms of visual art (painting, print, digital art, film), but her main art practice is in engagement and collaboration with collectives and com- munities through participatory art. She believes that displaying her work in non-tradi- tional community accessible spaces, invites the under-valued audience to participate in the art discourse.
Artist’s Statement
Avelina is a dancer, writer, performer and a gracious young woman on the verge of her VICTORIA DELGADILLO adult life in Oakland, California. Our love of family, culture and traditions urge us to im- Avelina’s Quinceanera, 2020 provise, even when we cannot be together in our usual shared spaces filled with hugs, watercolor delicious food and comfort. During the Coronavirus pandemic on May 30, 2020, Ave- 16 x 20 in. lina’s family hosted her Quinceañera via Zoom--complete with decorations, a beautiful ball gown, well wishes, blessings, dancing, performances, poetry, gifts, a brindis, and $750.00 cake. Avelina’s Quinceañera is about our perseverant malleability to continue as fami- ly, to remain in the now, to celebrate humanity even when social matters command us to seek justice and to help those who lack basic reassurance.
12 13 YANELI DELGADO
About
Yaneli Delgado is a proud Mexican American born and raised in South Central Los Angeles. She graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, and four years later, she graduated from U.C. Santa Barbara with a double major in Sociology and Spanish. Ya- neli moved back to South Central L.A. and wanted to be a resource to students in the community. While she continued to work at her former high school and Nava College Prep Academy, she was inspired to go back to school. Delgado found her interests in Printmaking and is currently at CSU Long Beach, where she will be receiving her Art Education Credentials by Fall 2020. Many African American, Chicana/o, Mexican, Latin American muralists, and printmakers have influenced her work. She believes a printing press can be a powerful tool for the artist as he or she can send a powerful message with a touch of ink.
Artist’s Statement
2020 is a linocut print that reflects the current situation that the world is witnessing. The woman is wearing a shirt that says “Defund the Police” with a poster sign quoting Au- YANELI DELGADO dre Lorde. The subject has sun rays around, representing revolutionary hope. This print was also inspired by the artist’s personal experience during this pandemic and how she 2020, 2020 has coped. linocut, Ed. 7 15 x 11 in. $250.00
14 15 FLOR FLORES
About
Flor Flores is a writer and artist, and part of the Self Help Graphics artists cohort, who lives in Los Angeles. Flor joined ‘Soy Artista’ with Self Help Graphics in 2016 and start- ed using art such as silkscreen printing and spray painting to advocate for social justice issues in her community of Boyle Heights. Flor also centers her work around commu- nity, experiences, and self-identity. Flor completed an exhibition called ‘Roaming in Rome’ in which she integrated sketches, impressionist paintings, photography, and poetry to depict the contrast between two cities in her study abroad experience. She has also participated in ‘Soy Artista’ exhibits at Self Help Graphics. Flor is inspired by her community and seeks to bridge youth in surrounding communities with art by using it to advocate social justice issues and work towards equity.
Artist’s Statement
The power of touch. We are wired to touch and to be touched from the moment we are born. Physical contact is an energy exchange we need from one another. Whether it’s a warm hug, a reassuring hand on the shoulder, or one arm linked through another, physical contact is a large part of how we feel connected. Social distancing has kept us physically distant from each other. We are celebrating, we are crying, and we are griev- ing in solitude. Our solitude can become lonely if we do not feel socially connected. flor flores These times have deprived us of feeling emotionally and socially connected through Us, 2020 touch. My piece Us brings on nostalgia for contact, a sensational feeling we receive acrylic on canvas when we are touched—a feeling of security, solidarity, empathy, and much more that 14 x 11 in. cannot be described. The hands demonstrate unity and solidarity with other individ- NFS uals. Each color stands for emotion. We must remember the value of touch and keep those memories in our hearts to feel connected to one another.
16 17 GUSTAVO ALBERTO GARCIA VACA http://www.chamanvision.com
About
Gustavo Alberto Garcia Vaca is a multidisciplinary visual artist and writer. His writing has been published in literary journals, including Strange Horizons, Rattle, and The Bilingual Review. His artwork is in the Collections of LACMA, MoMA New York, and the Bibliotheque Nationale de France.
Artist’s statement
Continuous transformation GUSTAVO ALBERTO GARCIA VACA I am the black gold of the sun, The maggot brain, BLACK GOLD OF THE SUN, 2020 A rain of emotion, acrylic on canvas board A rage of ocean. 12 x 16 in. $300.00 I am the knowing and unknowing, The learning and unlearning, The believing and self-healing.
Through these rhythms, gestures and colors, I am the fusion and illusion - Infinity And funkentelechy.
18 19 RAFAEL HARO
About
Rafael Haro is a fashion designer, graphic designer, printmaker living and working in East Los Angeles. He was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and migrated to Los An- geles at the age of 11. His work is influenced by his upbringing in Mexico and East Los Angeles, specifically his Nahua and P’urhepecha roots. His fashion and design imple- ment traditional patterns, weaving sacred and cultural identity throughout. The act of creating and recreating connects Rafael with his ancestors and is ceremonial. In 2016, he created a collection for the exhibition 43 from Ayotzinapa to Ferguson at Self Help Graphics & Art in partnership with Social Public Art Resource Center (SPARC). He has been an artist in residence at Self Help Graphics & Art since 2016, where he has been able to screen print his designs on textiles and use the space to cut and sew garments he can sell to sustain his practice.
Artist’s Statement
RAFAEL HARO Otro mundo es posible, sin capitalismo, sin policia, sin mal gobierno. Otro Mundo, 2020 Another world is possible, without capitalism, without police, without bad government. mixed media 24 x 20 in. $300.00
20 21 MICHELLE LOPEZ @michellelopez777
About
Michelle L. Lopez is an educator, artist, curator, grant writer, community organizer, and mom. She is a lecturer at Cal State LA teaching in the Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies Department. Most of her artwork is photo-based, using both found images and images she photographs. Her work often investigates memory, emotion, and trauma. Michelle is also a curator and co-curator for Entre Tinta y Lucha: 45 Years of Self Help Graphics & Art that took place at the Cal State LA Fine Arts Gallery.
Artist’s Statement
This piece is a reflection of what is taking place in my community during the time of COVID. It is what I see happening around me as so much is happening across the globe. Tensions are rising across the United States. It’s as though there is a fire burning out of control, and we are stuck inside it. There is so much confusion; sometimes it’s overwhelming. There is no consistency in anything. Everything seems so scattered and can’t plan for anything. What is open today could be closed tomorrow, and the selfish- ness of others has become so apparent when wearing a mask has become politicized— some folx view wearing a mask as a violation of freedom, while others want to be safe. MICHELLE LOPEZ Lost in the Fire, 2020 Meanwhile, schools are closed, we can’t see our friends, and people are dying ev- archival pigment print ery day. While we are in the midst of this global pandemic, protests are taking place 19 x 13 in. throughout the United States and the world. There is so much pain that sometimes I $250.00 wonder if we will be able to pull ourselves out of the fire.
22 23 ROSALIE LOPEZ @rosaliemlopez
About
Rosalie M. López is a Chicanx artist, from Gardena, CA, who combines and reforms her traditional art practices through her contemporary lens. Her artwork shares impactful communal stories of resiliency and pride happening within the underrepresented facets of society. She blends printmaking and papel-picado techniques, combined with offer- ings for the day of the dead and religious kitsch, to create her artwork. López’s artwork often takes the form of immersive installations, sculpture, and social en- gagement projects. López was the first in her family to graduate high school and attend college.
In 2009, she earned 2 Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in graphic design and printmaking from California State University-Long Beach. In 2013, she earned her Master of Fine Arts in printmaking from Indiana University. Rosalie has been exhibiting since 2007 with recent exhibitions at the Museum of Latin American Art (Long Beach, CA), The South- west School of Art (San Antonio, TX) The University Art Museum (UAM) at Cal State Univ. ROSALIE LOPEZ Long Beach, and a solo exhibition at Tipton Gallery at East Tenn. State University. Mano Poderosa-Remix #1, 2020 photo lithograph prints, laser cut cotton rag Artist’s Statement paper and wire on wood frame 22 x 20 x 4 in Mano Poderosa-Remix #1 is an exploratory sculptural piece coming from Rosalie’s body $600.00 of artwork that blends milagro charm imagery with reinterpreted offerings from the Day of the Dead and representations of living growth.
24 25 ariel mar @arielmaroon
About
Ariel Mar is an artist and teacher from Salinas, CA. She has lived and worked in Los An- geles for 10 years and is interested in working with communities in ways that cultivate growth and healing through art.
Artist’s Statement ariel mar State of the Nation, 2020 The drawing represents the issues at the forefront of our communities. What we have graphite on paper seen and experienced this year. The work is intended to read like a newspaper—docu- 25 x 38 in. mentation of our year—this moment in history. $800.00
26 27 dalila paola mendez @dalilapaola
About
Dalila Paola Mendez is a first generation queer Central American artist based in Los Angeles. Through painting, printmaking, photography, and murals she visually narrates stories of resilience, elders, lgbtq, matriarchs, and the environment. Her work is influ- enced by her grandmother’s matriarchal line of wisdoms and knowledge. Combining modern and ancestral narratives, she explores indigenous connections as a way to rein- DALILA PAOLA MENDEZ terpret and navigate issues confronting communities of color. She is currently working on a series of Huipiles (Woven Blouses) exploring contemporary narratives. We the Resilient, 2020 mixed media on canvas Artist’s Statement 24 x 36 in. $1,200.00 In these crazy times, I wanted to celebrate the lives of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Andres Guardado, who were killed by police violence. It sparked protests for Black Lives and justice. We have been here before, fighting for justice, the rights of people of color, and ending systemic racism. WE must not give up. WE must continue to fight for justice and help redeem the soul of this nation. WE must fight for our rights when the current administration threatens our rights. WE are strong, resilient and determined to bring systemic change and justice to this country. WE are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.
28 29 connie mendoza
About
connie mendoza Born and raised in Boyle Heights, Connie Mendoza is passionate about her communi- Systematic Death, 2020 ty. She graduated from CSULA with a B.A. in Art History. With Self Help Graphics as a mixed media Teaching Artist Assistant, Connie is able to reach out and work in communities beyond 48 x 84 in. Boyle Heights. She is currently working on mastering ceramics and creating more art.
above: installation image Artist’s Statement left: detail image The Mesoamerican Tzompantli, known as a skull rack, is a wooden rack displaying the $800.00 for 96 skulls skulls of war captives and sacrificial victims. It was a public display of the celebration $150.00 for 16 skulls and embracement of violence. Similarly, the current negligence by the Trump ad- ministration of Covid 19 is also an act of violence. The disease has spread across the United States leaving people unprotected by the lack of testing and resources leading to 150,000 deaths. Communities of color are disappropriately affected by this brutal behavior. The negligence has not only continued but has been embraced by the pres- idency. In this piece, the masked skulls combine two symbols, the skull and the mask, whose connection is one of extreme violence.
30 31 chynna monforte
@chynna.design
About
Chynna Monforte is a first-generation Mexican-Guatemalan artist born in Alaska and raised in occupied Tongva land Los Angeles. “Ni de aquí, ni de allá, ni de allá, ni de allá.” Chynna’s work focuses on identity in land, familial ties, and culture with an in- terdisciplinary practice using photography, design, collage, and silkscreen. Their work has been featured in exhibitions at Plaza de la Raza, The Getty, and Ghettogloss. www. imachynna.com Instagram: @imachynna | @chynna.design
Artist’s Statement
This artwork is a direct statement to the ongoing police violence in Black communities in America. The recycled banner stating “Choose Your Future,” an advertisement for the Los Angeles Police Department, is painted over with the names of Black victims lost at the hands of police. The size of the large banner confronts the viewer with a grim CHYNNA MONFORTE reality of a historically racist and unjust system. The issues of police brutality haven’t Choose Your Future, 2020 changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the death of George Floyd and Breonna mixed media, paint, banner Taylor has sparked uprisings for Black lives across the country. #DefundLAPD #ICant- 8 x 3’ Breathe NFS
32 33 cynthia navarro @ionthecentaur
About
I am an illustrator from South Los Angeles, and my Mexican heritage heavily influences my work. Through my illustrations, I strive to combat harmful stereotypes about aspects of my identity; immigration, indigenous history, and the Latinx experience in low-in- come communities. I enjoy building historical and fantastical worlds that place people of color at the center of stories that empower them. In addition to my illustration work, I use art education and work with youth to inspire and validate their experiences.
cynthia navarro Artist’s Statement Protect Street Vendors, 2020 digital painting Protect Street Vendors is an illustration in response to the attacks against street vendors 16 x 20 in. in COVID-era America. In the midst of a global pandemic, the fight against racial injus- NFS tice and economic hardships, street vendors have become vulnerable to robbery and assault by misguided community members that seek temporary fame on social media. As an integral part of low-income communities, street vendors provide us with food and other goods, all while trying to make their own decent living. Protect Street Ven- dors highlights the beauty and effort street vendors put into their livelihood. From the raspado cooler to the fresh fruit they prepare, everything they do has thought behind it, so we must care for our street vendors as much as they care for the communities they serve.
34 35 jennifer payan
@_la_chicaaaa
About
Jennifer Payan is an entering transfer student at UCLA, where she will major in Art History. Her involvement with Self Help Graphics & Art began in 2015 as a student in their Summer of Youth Artist program, which she participated in consecutively for four years. As a youth ambassador in a youth-led docent cohort, she led tours for the Getty Pacific Standard Time LA/LA exhibition titled Día de Los Muertos: A Cultural Legacy, Past, Present, and Future and Womxn Warriors: Honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Walkouts and Intergenerational Organizing. The following year, Jennifer was the SHG 2018 Getty Multicultural Undergraduate Archives and Documenta- tion Intern, where her interest in archives strengthened.
In 2019, joined the Barrio Mobile Art Studio program as a teaching artist assistant. Jennifer wants to pursue a career as an archivist and intends to continue her art practice.
Artist’s Statement
Migration focuses on the monarch butterfly’s migratory patterns in Northern America. The monarchs in this work also represent the immigration of people to North America, which is an arduous journey that is both exhausting and transformational. People create borders, phys- ical or spiritual divisions, but creatures such as the monarch are not affected by such things. The beauty of the monarch’s journey resembles that of an immigrant’s story moving to the U.S. Many do not survive. Still, those who do are somehow able to find a way to persevere and move forward with a newfound sense of resiliency. They, too, like the monarch butterfly, jennifer payan move to find that ideal place for their offspring to thrive. Whether it’s the migration of animals or immigration of a person from one country to another, one must also understand that mi- Migration is..., 2020 gration is natural and that it shouldn’t cease. No one questions the migration of butterflies, so mixed media why should society and governments eliminate and diminish immigration efforts by foreigners. 12 x 9 in. Migration is the freedom to move and exist wherever they choose to be. $100.00
36 37 monica perez @veganmoni
About
The fifteen-year cultural work of Monica Perez, known to most as “Moni” in her native Boyle Heights, is rooted in social justice and resilience, visible through her emotive style of photography, teaching healthy cooking practices, and unique printmaking designs. Her signature style is a blend of experience in battling and surviving cancer, social work practice, and a facilitator of arts under the pedagogy of Self Help Graphics & Arts (SHG). She received her social work degree from CSU Los Angeles in 2010, and six years later apprenticed at SHG Barrio Mobile Art Studio. Upon learning the art of workshop facilitation, Moni began to facilitate workshops in a wide array of settings, from public spaces to museums of notoriety. Moni’s work as a community-based chef sprouted onto the community arts scene in 2010 when - out of necessity to cover costs of cancer treatment and raising three children- she launched Vegan Moni, a much needed-healthy option in the food vending community. She has facilitated workshops for many organizations, including “Girls Today Women Tomorrow,” catering to many high-profile clients.
Artist’s Statement
Monica “Moni” Perez is an artist that explores issues of sexuality, body disorder, and monica perez the ability to overcome adversity. Photography is the cathartic outlet she uses to navi- gate life with terminal cancer. Her imagery depicts concepts of vulnerability. Her visual Aguanosa y Dulce, 2020 expression emotes resilience through reclaimed identity in the face of being underrep- photograph resented in the world. Moni examines the relationship between symbolic imagery and 7.5 x 7.5 in. ea the nude, offering a counterpoint to the representation of the brown body. $800.00 Her body is her recurring subject of choice as a visual expression of her inner emotions. The four images offer an optimistic glimpse through the window of an artist’s world, as she creates a safe space to work through the trauma that plagues her. Greenery becomes our greatest companion when seeking solace in the world. The visual inter- twining of body and botany deeply entangled as one is a chromatic expression of the allurement inseparable from its earthly origin. She stages each photo using natural light and the symbolism of color and curves as sensual pleasure, highlighting the amalgama- tion of illustrative elements on - what for her became - a very, very long day.
38 39 andrea “xoch” ramirez
@andixoch
About
Andi Xoch, born in Mexico City and raised in Eastside Los Angeles, is a street and print artist, specializing in stencil making, doll making, interior design and murals. Her prac- tice is deeply embedded in community activism. She is a former founding member of the Ovarian Psycos Bicycle Brigade in 2010, a Boyle Heights-based collective. After andrea “xoch” ramirez parting with Ovarian Psycos, Xoch co-founded the artist collective, Ni Santas in 2016. Covid Tonantzin, 2020 Xoch currently facilitates workshops at Self Help Graphics. mixed media 37 x 20 in. NFS
40 41 diego robles
About
Diego Robles is an Artist, Educator, Researcher, and Father. Diego was born in San Diego and spent much of his childhood in Houston, Texas. He lived in Tijuana and Mexico City and much of his life in Los Angeles, California. Diego makes films, visual art, writes poetry, and short sto- ries. Today, he is a prospective Ph. D. student and a graduate from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, Television, and CalArts’ School of Film/Video & Critical Studies.
He teaches courses in Visual Art, Animation, Cinema, Design, and Art at the California State University in San Bernardino, Self-Help Graphics & Art, UCLA Summer Discovery, among other institutions. He engages in practice-based research in Visual and Oral History at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.
diego robles Artist’s Statement Juegos mañosos/Tricky Games, 2020 Juegos mañosos/ Tricky Games is an exploration of the Lottery, the game of chance. Lotteries collage/decollage have been part of society since the dawn of civilization and have both positive and negative 24 x 48 in. connotations, depending on the context. The game’s origin is Italian and dates to the begin- NFS ning of the 1400s. The colonies of New Spain gradually made the game their own, reshaping it throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In the Mexican and Mexican-American community, the card game, Lotería, is sold at supermarkets, enabling families to pass the time together. For some, they even serve as a way to discuss, learn, and correlate constructed cultural imagery with our inherited social language.
Today, during this challenging and uncertain time, where a global Pandemic rips through many families as it has my own, the board game continues to be adapted, critiqued, and creatively integrated into new cultural milieus like Southern California, and it’s sprawling pluralism. In this collage piece, the board game is cut and mangled, along with various other home-made drawings, magazine images, household objects, and calendar dates. The imagination is sifting through and re-organizing itself like a young girl (my daughter) growing up during this time, taking it day by day.
42 43 oscar rodriguez @guez_art
About
Oscar Rodriguez was born in Mexico but raised in Los Angeles since the age of 6. His love of art sparked early on when his father would bring him coloring books. Instead of coloring, he would try to redraw the illustrations. His parents didn’t have much, but they always supported his passion for art, often sacrificing their morning coffee to give him 2 dollars to buy himself art supplies. He struggled to fit into a society that he felt he did not belong to throughout his life. His art reflects those struggles caused by political barriers. With the help and support from his family, Oscar managed to attend art school and receive a Bachelors of Fine Art from California State University at Long Beach’s College of the Arts. As an Illustrator, he has worked in storyboarding, portrait illustration, concept art, and graphic design. For the past 12 years, he has taught illus- tration workshops all over the city of Los Angeles, and for the last seven years, he has been a teaching artist for Self Help Graphics and Art, where he leads silkscreen work- shops to communities all over the county.
Artist’s Statement
The illustration depicts the events that happened during the 2020 Pandemic and how it spotlighted many social issues around the overt oppression of people of color by the White supremacist group known as the republican party. Cesar Chavez and Dr. King are a reflection that we are still fighting their fight. The child holding flowers depicts oscar rodriguez my own experiences as a young immigrant kid growing up during the Pete Wilson era, where I saw first hand the racism towards someone that looks like me while in my mind, Collapse and Rebirth, 2020 I was just a normal kid. As kids, we know very little of why things happen around us, acrylic on illustration board and yet many of whom are locked in cages. The flower depicts the rebirth of that inno- 19 x 14 in. cence. $600.00
44 45 viktor rosas
@ima_cheesecake2
About
Viktor Rosas is a self-taught printmaker from Mexico. His work is a constant explora- viktor rosas tion of the media, materials, and techniques he uses to produce his images. His work is influenced by comic books, art from all cultures of the past, and present that reflect Dive In, 2020 human behavior. mixed media (ink, acrylic, collage) 11 x 19 in. Artist’s Statement $450.00 The artwork is a window to the events that took place since the beginning of the pan- demic. On the one hand, we saw nature blooming and prospering during Spring be- cause of the quarantine. Less smog, noise pollution, and wild animals ventured. The work also depicts authority figures representing the systems in place that keep people of color oppressed and enabled the racial injustices. Well-educated individuals from sophisticated societies allow these injustices to continue. This piece also looks at the shared insecurities and mental health impacts caused by economic uncertainty, anx- iety, and stress.
46 47 marianne sadowski
@mariannesadowski
About
Marianne Sadowski is a visual artist and art educator born and raised in Mexico City. She has a BA in Film from the Universidad Iberoamericana and a MFA from the Acad- emy of San Carlos, both in Mexico City. She lives and works at present in Los Angeles, California.
She is an active member of Mono Gráfico Colectivo, a printmaking collective whose mission is to push the boundaries in printmaking, the Los Angeles Printmaking Society, Southern Graphics Council, Consejo Gráfico -a network of workshops that promote marianne sadowski Latino printmaking in the United States- and the Artist Advisory Board at Self Help Hope Grows in Darkness, 2020 Graphics. monoprint and ink on hand- made paper mounted on board. Artist’s Statement 40 x 64" (8 panels, each 20 x 16") $4,000.00 In this multi-paneled artwork, I try to reflect the difficult times we live in, and the hope that is growing and emerging from a dark past. We have witnessed and participated in massive demonstrations against police brutality towards black people and the contin- uous racial divide of this country fueled by a racist ruling president and party. Systemic racism has to stop, and millions of people have gone to the streets to show that the majority will not tolerate this anymore. Layered monoprints with different shades of black ink form the work. Plants are rising from the dark and growing tall, resisting the system that will not advance the way it has done in the past. Hope, growth, and resistance.
48 49 pete tovar @tovar_peter
About
Peter began painting after being discharged from the USAF in 1972, having spent over two years in Vietnam. He then began working with Self Help Graphics in 1974 and founded the folk craft store “Bodega Colores” at SHG. In 1994, his first exhibition at SHG’s Galeria Otra Vez featured a series of acrylic paintings, and his following exhibit featured his first series of pastels. In 1992, he collaborated with fellow artist, Michael Amezcua, and designed the award-winning installation, “Gateway to ELA,” an MTA commission that Amezcua received. In 2008, Peter created SHG’s Day of the Dead commemorative print. After purchasing one of Peter’s pastels, author Gary Soto com- missioned Peter to design the book cover for Buried Onions. He also created a second book cover for Peace in the Streets by Arturo Hernandez. Due to medical conditions in 1995, Peter put his art career on hold for eight years. After returning to his art practice, Peter had his first solo exhibit at Tonalli Studio in 2014. Peter was born in San Francisco in 1948. The second oldest of four children, he grew up in Campbell Ca, a small town outside San Jose. Peter is the father of 4 children and currently lives in La Crescenta, Ca.
Artist’s Statement
Like a lot of people, I’m hurting during these times. I would never have thought I would live to see what is happening to our country. It is like when toys are taken from kids, and they do not know how to act. Is this mass hysteria, a pole shift, a glitch in time, or pete tovar what? Who really knows. Does anybody ? My Painting is my response to the madness I I’m Leaving Myself, 2020 see daily. oil 30 x 24 in. $1,200.00
50 51 dewey tafoya @deweytafoya
About
Dewey Tafoya is an East Los Angeles based visual artist and teaching artist. He is cur- rently the resident artist at Self-Help Graphics & Art, where he leads a monthly screen printing class as well as Barrio Mobile Arts Studio workshops. As a printmaking and graphic design instructor, he has taught at local continuation schools as well as Art- worxLA and the City of Los Angeles’s Saturday Night Lights (SNL) parks and recreation program. Influenced by his local community, he uses symbols and imagery connected to the urban landscape, Chicanx culture, and indigenous civilizations to critique, de- construct, and rebuild historical narratives. His work has exhibited throughout Southern California, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Artist’s Statement
I created this print as a commentary on how masks became a popular fashion state- ment during the pandemic, as a way to accessorize and maybe, to help us feel more comfortable with having to wear masks for protection. I purposely used familiar and maybe overused icons of Chicano art and Mexican culture to convey how we consume anything deemed popular, even in the midst of a global pandemic. In my imagination, Frida would be wearing a Zapata mask not only as a statement of fashion but also as a dewey tafoya statement of her “wokeness” in today’s pandemic society. Pop Art Pandemic, 2020 mono screen print on coventry rag paper 30 x 22 in. $500.00
52 53 arleny vargas
@arlenyarielle
About
Arleny Vargas is a photographer, writer, and plant mom from Boyle Heights. She re- ceived her Bachelor of Arts from Wellesley College in Spanish and Studio Art in June of 2018. From an early age, she has been interested in storytelling and now seeks to com- bine her photography and writing to tell the stories of the communities she holds close to her heart. Her work primarily focuses on the intersections of culture, community, and identity with a strong focus on femininity.
Artist’s Statement
Let Us Breathe focuses on the multiple ways in which our breathing and our right arleny vargas to breathe has heightened in the middle of a pandemic. The digital print addresses Let Us Breathe, 2020 breathing in a literal sense, such as how COVID targets lungs, while also paying tribute digital drawing to the lives stolen at the hands of the police with countless records of “I can’t breathe.” 24 x 18 in. Breathing also is addressed in a figurative sense with our need to catch a breath, and $75.00 the expectation of paying rent in the middle of pandemic increases anxiety and stress. The marigolds pay tribute to the lives lost both due to COVID and the police.
54 55 ernesto vazquez @evillustrations323
Artist’s Statement
In this artwork, my partner is 8 months pregnant with our first child. I can say that it has been a blessing in disguise for my partner and I. Both of us have been working from home and have been able to enjoy being present for the growth of our unborn baby. The image depicts my partner holding a bundle of burning sage in one hand and two feathers in another. The feathers in hand represent my two daughters, whom my part- ner has helped raise like her own children. The sage and smoke represent our ances- tors, hovering around her offering protection. The green plants behind her are a repre- sentation of myself, being a constant gardener growing food and plants for our home. I can say I have been blessed during this time to be able to experience this pregnancy to its fullest.
ernesto vazquez Xinachtli, 2020 ink illustration on archival rag paper 30 x 22 in. paper size $600.00
56 57 mario ybarra jr @mario_ybarra_jr
About
Mario Ybarra Jr. (1973) Mexican-American, conceptual artist born and raised in Los Angeles. His artwork operates as examinations of excluded social norms, often examining complete en- vironments, histories and narratives. He received an MFA from the University of California Irvine and a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design.
Artist’s Statement
My life and artistic practice during this time of Covid-19 lockdown and Black Lives Matter protests has been a scramble to seek understanding and wisdom from spiritual, political, and cultural leaders. As a conceptual artist, my labor mostly consists of thoughts and ideas that intersect with the aptitude of my hands. These thoughts, feelings, and questions have been overwhelming me, and I had to put down my drawing tools to listen.
Every morning I listened to NPR, Podcasts on Spotify, Netflix and YouTube Documentaries to get a grasp of what is happening in the world. I looked and listened to past and present experts for knowledge about the presence of mind, body, and spirit and how to navigate a per- spective future. I wrote down things that perked my interest and curiosity. This listening/writ- ing became my most valuable tool to synthesize information. However, it really took all of my creative energy. Now, during the second wave of Covid-19 lockdowns and BLM protests and mario ybarra jr discussions, I feel I can finally make and reflect on some of these ideas. My piece is inspired by a quote of the Chicano Comedian George Lopez said in one of his standup comedy acts. “If you fuck with one bean you fuck with the whole burrito...”-Comedian George Lopez, 2020 To me, it illustrates solidarity (in a blunt and overt way) that only comedians in their jester po- archival light jet print sitions (in our culture) are expected to deliver publicly. The day after hearing this quote, I ate a 20 x 16 in. framed huge carnitas burrito for lunch, and it reminded me of Lopez’s quote. I took out my phone and $500.00 took a photo of it. Provecho Y’all!
58 59 joan zamora @joan_zeta
About
Joan Zamora is a multimedia artist who came to the United States illegally at the age of eight from Mexico. Her homes have included: Bell Gardens, Panorama City, Sun Valley, London, San Francisco, and South LA. She earned a bachelor’s degree from San Fran- cisco State University with an emphasis in painting and photography. Her art focuses on creating surreal landscapes and portraits based on her experiences as a community activist. In 2016, she helped cofound Ni Santas collective, an all wom- en of color art collective that offers monthly free art workshops. Joan has spent the pandemic taking long walks around Los Angeles and dealing with mental health issues. She currently lives in Boyle Heights and works with students in special education in Koreatown.
Artist’s Statement
My work addresses the life of slain United States soldier Vanessa Guillén. Guillén was a 20-year-old Army specialist who went missing in her military base on April 22, 2020. Months before she went missing, Guillén had told her mother about being sexually harassed by a sergeant but did not report it for fear of not being believed. After two joan zamora months of searching for Vanessa, her body was found on June 30 in a shallow grave near her base. By drawing her portrait, I wanted to bring more awareness to the violent They Tried to Silence Her: Vane ssa Guillén, 2020 consequences women suffer for speaking up. Although she never reported the sexual mixed media: charcoal, coffee, spray paint, glitter harassment, by coming forward to her mother, Vanessa was never silenced. It is her and photocopy transfer on paper/ wood mother who is now bringing light to her daughter’s death and a spotlight on the sexual 35 x 35 in. harassment and assaults that happen in the armed forces. I want to show the ongoing NFS struggle through the glitter coming out from Vanessa. The coffee signifies the obstacles she faced as a woman of color and her untimely death. The leaves coming out of her shoulders represent the ever-growing strength her mother finds in her daughter’s memory.
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